SB 1 
.M435 
I Copy 1 



ADDKEISS 



DKLIVERBD AT THR 



DEDICATION OF THE NEW HALL 



$Has8ac|nsetis jorticwitural 3mtty. 



SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1865. 
BY C. M. HOYEY, 

PR ESI I) EXT OF THE SOCIETY. 




BOSTt)N: 

HENRY W. DUTTON & SON, PRINTERS, 
90 and 92 Washington Street 

1866. 



ADDEESS 



DELIVERED AT THB 



DEDICATION OF THE NEW IIALL 




itMcJntseiis Jjwlotltaral ftuaefg. 



SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1865. 
BY 0. M. HOVEY, \«\o 

PRESIDENT OF THE SOCIETY. 




BOSTON: 

HENRY W. DUTTON & SON, PRINTERS, 

90 and 92 Washington Street. 

1866. 



&v 






& 



^nwibntXH Swftaltoral Jwlrtg. 



HORTICULTURAL HALL, 

BOSTON, Not. 11, 1865. 
At a meeting of this Society, held to-day, on motion of L. Wetherell, Esq., it was unanimously 
Voted, to present to you the thanks of the Society for your able, eloquent and instructive 

Address, delivered on the occasion of the Dedication of our new Building ; and to request of you 

a copy for publication in the Transactions of the Society. 

In pursuance of that rote, the undersigned were appointed a Committee to await your reply. 

Respectfully yours, 

E W. BUSWELL, 
F. PARKMAN, 
, C. 0. WHITMORJB. 

T» C. M. Hovbt, Esq., President. 



CAMBRIDGE, Not. 16, 1865. 
Gbwtlbhbk— 

Highly gratified at the complimentary manner in which you have aUuded to my Address, 
•ad pleased to know it has your kind appreciation, I submit it entirely to your disposal. 

Respectfully yours, 



C. M. HOYEY. 



B. W. Buswsll, 
y. Paekha*. 

C. 0. Whitmor*. 



ADDRESS. 



Winter, with its storms of snow and chilling blasts, its 
leafless trees and withered verdure, has come and gone, — 
spring, with its genial air and welcome showers, its un- 
folding buds and emerald turf, has passed away,— summer, 
with its glorious sun and balmy air, its leafy groves and 
brilliant blossoms, has ended, and we are again upon the 
threshold of autumn, with its cloudless sky and cooling 
breeze, already spreading her robe of varied colors over 
hill and valley, tinting the copse and dell with her kaleido- 
scopic hues, embrowning the orchard with its ruddy fruits, 
and spangling the fields and pastures with countless flowers 
of purple and gold. Another varied year has run its 
course ; — a year crowded with momentous events, filled with 
alternate hopes and fears, with joy and sorrow, — a year of 
war and desolation, when thousands of our fellow-men have 
perished in their devotion to freedom, — and we are once 
more permitted, by the blessing of Divine Providence, to 
•assemble here at this joyous season, when the earth is 
^yielding its bounteous harvest, to dedicate this beautiful 



Hall, which, after the assiduous labors of two years, you 
have now brought to a successful completion. 

Welcome, then ! thrice welcome to this Temple of Fruits 
and Flowers which you have reared, over which Ceres, 
Flora and Pomona shall preside. Here shall each hold 
high court, and all who worship at their shrine bring 
annually their chosen offerings, 

" Flowers of all hue and without thorn the rose," 

wreathed and garlanded in all the fancied forms of grace 
and loveliness which cultivated taste may direct. Here 
bring your orchard treasures, 

" The wide, projected heaps 
of apples," 
"The Pippin burnished o'er with gold," 

" The juicy pear I 

In soft profusion scattered round," 

and make this ample Hall like fair Pomona's arbor, 

" With flowerets decked and fragrant smells." 

Rejoice with thankful hearts, that, through the great 
crisis we have passed, we have been permitted to steadily 
pursue our pleasant and peaceful avocations, and, in such 
an eventful period, accomplish the work you so zealously 
begun, continued with so much energy, and brought to a 
successful close. For all these blessings let us acknowledge 
the power and wisdom of Him who rules the Universe and 
governs all things well. 



Let me congratulate you upon this happy attempt to 
reunite the science and art of Gardening with its sister arts 
of Architecture, Sculpture and Painting; for they are 
each regulated by the same principles and pervaded by the 
same feelings. In the best days of art they were united, 
and if, by misapplication of these principles, they have 
been separated, how important and gratifying that they are 
henceforth to be brought together. Not only shall this 
building be a record of progress in architectural art, but 
that greater progress of a refined and intelligent commu- 
nity, and the truest testimonial of that liberality which has 
grown with our material wealth, until it has become a 
pleasure, as it should be a duty, to contribute to every 
enterprise which has for its object a higher civilization. 

In eligibility of site, — in the accessibility of location, — in 
the style of architecture, — in the proportions of these halls, 
— in the ample space of each, — in the convenience of the 
Society's rooms, — in the lesser details of accommodation 
of members and exhibitors, as well as in the arrangement of 
the whole for other uses when not needed by the Society, — 
all is believed to be highly satisfactory ; and when we add, 
that financially it has proved more favorable than was an- 
ticipated, should we not feel grateful ! Having shared, to 
some extent, in your labors and responsibilities in the 
erection of the building, I am glad to congratulate you 
upon what has been done in so short a period of time. 
Not without some anxiety was the work undertaken, at a 
period when few had the courage to proceed in any similar 



enterprise ; but what, two years ago, was a vague concep- 
tion, is to-day a reality. If your committee have failed in 
the attempt to render this building as perfect as possible, 
or to provide everything that the space and means of the 
Society would allow, it must be attributed to error of judg- 
ment, and not to gratify any personal views or to wilful 
design. How well it is adapted to our greatest wants 
another week will enable you to decide. Welcome, then, 
once more, to this hall, which you have already adorned 
with some of the lovely treasures of your ceaseless care, 

"Flowerets of a thousand hues," 

whose sweet companionship has been the solace of your 
summer hours, whose buds and blossoms you have formed 
in various shapes of graceful beauty, 

" as by a master hand, disposing well 
The gay diversities of leaf and flower," 

to offer here upon the altar of Flora. If we have not been 
more lavish in ornament to render it more symbolical of its 
purpose, it is because we desired you to see it " unadorned 
and plain," that the brilliant display you have in store the 
coming week may appear in stronger contrast. 

So much has been said on a previous occasion, in refer- 
ence to the condition and prospects of the Society, that it 
will be unnecessary to repeat it at this time. But a hasty 
glance at its early history, — a brief notice of its gradual 
progress from small beginnings to its present standing,— 



may not be unprofitable, or seem a waste of time. For its 
history is the history of Horticulture in our country. As 
a science and an art it was then scarcely recognized ; and 
Pomology, at least, was unknown. A few varieties of 
fruits, a meagre number of flowers, and a scanty supply 
of vegetables filled our gardens, or found a place in our 
markets. How much have the united labors of your mem- 
bers, and others engaged in Horticulture, changed all this ! 
What Pomological riches are now brought before an appre- 
ciative public ! How vast the beautiful acquisitions of our 
greenhouses and gardens, how diversified the trees and 
shrubs of our pleasure grounds and villa residences, 
and how great the variety of our culinary vegetables ! 
To attempt to set any value upon all these improvements 
would be " ridiculous excess." Well may we exclaim with 
one of our humble poets, whose pen was principally de- 
voted to the advancement of rural industry, 

" Hail, Horticulture ! Heaven ordained, 

Of every art the source, 
Which man has polished, life sustained, 

Since time commenced his course. 
Where waves thy wonder-working wand, 

What splendid scenes disclose ! 
The blasted heath, the arid strand , 

Out bloom the gorgeous rose ! " 

But while we may, with perfect justice, claim the ac- 
complishment of so much, and while our efforts have been 
directed to a continued progress in every department of 
Horticulture and Rural art, we must not neglect to award 



10 

that meed of praise which belongs to a few zealous, enter- 
prising and public spirited men, who payed the way for 
such an association as ours ; who did the rough work ; 
who removed the rocks and stones, and grubbed up the 
underbrush of prejudice and ignorance which lay in the path 
we were to follow, sow the better seed, and reap the rich 
harvest which the wisdom and sagacity of these noble pio- 
neers foresaw was in store for those who should succeed 
them. To fruits and flowers, to trees and shrubs and 
gardening generally, they gave but little time, occupied as 
they were in recording facts, and diffusing information upon 
agricultural science. 

The imperious demands of man are food and raiment, 
and it was the task of these great men to talk of improv- 
ing our herds of cattle, and the fleeces of our sheep ; — 
how to manage pasture-lands, and raise corn and wheat ; 
— of the introduction of grasses and forage plants, the 
quality of manures, and all the details of farm improve- 
ment. For a nation's greatness is in proportion as its 
agriculture is flourishing; and to promote the noble art in 
every way, both by precept and example, was the leading 
aim of these disinterested and patriotic men. How much 
they did and how invaluable were their long- continued 
labors, we hava the best evidence in the exhibition of 
superior products, and in the establishment of similar 
associations in our own State, which had a powerful influ- 
ence throughout the country. Yet horticulture was not 
wholly overlooked ; no narrow lines confined the minds of 



11 

such men ; their vision comprised the world abroad as well 
as at home. Thoroughly American in all their views, loyal 
almost to excess, jealous of all attempts to depreciate the 
character or skill of our people, yet ever ready to avail 
themselves of everything new, come from what source it 
might, and perfectly familiar with European works on agri- 
culture and horticulture, they had not omitted to perceive 
the rapid progress of the latter art ; and while devoted to 
the one, the other was not forgotten. It was thus that the 
foundation was laid, upon which much of our subsequent 
advance in horticulture was reared. 

It is only in the pages of the Massachusetts Agricultural 
Repository that we can find any very particular and detailed 
account of horticultural art previous to the formation of our 
Society, and from one contributor, almost alone, came nearly 
all that was written of much value for some years. This was 
the late Hon. John Lowell, who has not improperly been 
styled the Columella of America. He was an amateur cul- 
tivator in the true meaning of the word, and he never 
failed to record everything new and important concerning 
horticultural art. Time and again he brought it before the 
public, sometimes by recording his own practice, but gen- 
erally in the prefatory remarks to some scientific work upon 
the subject. It was in one of the latter articles that he 
remarks : " To those who may be disposed to consider 
horticulture as less interesting and less within the province 
of this Society, we would observe (at the hazard of repeating 
and reinforcing the remarks we have already made), that it 



12 

is precisely the branch of agricultural industry which, in 
our country, needs the most attention. It is the one in 
which we are the most deplorably ignorant. We feel only a 
sentiment of humiliation when we reflect that countries 
which the sun never heats produce the most luxuriant 
fruits, while our sun wastes its powers in many parts of 
the country on a rich, productive soil, which in most cases 
is applied to the production of vegetables which our Indian 
predecessors bequeathed to us." 

And on another occasion, when speaking of the impor- 
tance of the introduction of new fruits and the culture of 
trees, shrubs and flowers : " Let those who please laugh 
at the absurdity of talking seriously of the importance of 
rearing ornamental trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants ; 
let them ridicule the zeal which would furnish us with all 
the varieties of fruits which grow from Palestine to Arch- 
angel, which would supply our tables with lettuce in 
February and green peas in March; yet there are few 
of these laughing gentlemen who would not gladly see 
and taste these varieties, and they must be had and will 
be had in spite of ridicule. They are in truth as rational 
sources of pleasure, and as just objects of pride and dis- 
play, as a fine carriage or superb dresses. They in truth 
give more pleasure ; for while the coach and the muslin 
robe are chiefly gratifying to the owner, those who cannot 
afford the one or the other, can feel, and often do feel, more 
exquisitely, the pleasures derived from the display of the 
beauties of flowers, or the taste of the delicious fruits of 



13 

nature. The cultivator, then, of fruits and flowers is much 
less selfish. Their sweets are not produced for him alone." 

That you may have good evidence that Mr. Lowell is the 
best historian of the progress of Horticulture we quote 
once more. This was in 1825: "As to horticulture, the 
field is newly explored. In my short space of residence in 
this mutable world, I remember when the May Duke and 
the sour Kentish cherry eould alone be found in our 
market. I remember when our strawberries were only 
gathered from the grass fields. I remember the first 
boxes of cultivated strawberries ever sent to Boston mar- 
ket Who ever heard of an English or Dutch gooseberry 
or raspberry at market twenty-five years since ? The 
Jenneting, Cattern, Minot and Iron pears, some of them 
execrable, were often seen, but not a single delicious 
variety was known out of the gardens of the rich connois- 
seurs. There never was a more rapid progress in any 
country than that which we have made in horticulture, 
and yet there is no one point in which we are so defec- 
tive ; I hope and believe, however, that we shall supply 
this defect" 

These remarks may seem curious enough to many of 
you, yet we regret to say that there are still too many who 
think that a taste for plants and flowers, and a love for 
fine fruits and ornamental trees, exhibits a sort of effemi- 
nacy which unfits those who devote their leisure moments 
to these objects for the business relations of life. Alas ! 
that a love of Nature's charming works, and the pleasing 



14 

and alluring toils of the garden, should render us less 
capable of performing all the active duties which may 
devolve upon us, than those who tread the " dim and 
treeless city," occupied in a ceaseless competition for 
wealth and fame. 

How much, indeed, do we owe to such illustrious pio- 
neers as Lowell, Welles, Quincy, Sullivan, Pickering, 
Preble, Guild, and others. May their zeal, perseverance, 
integrity, high moral wcrth and Christian spirit be an 
example to those who succeed them, and may their dis- 
tinguished services be held in perpetual remembrance. 

It was about this period, 1822, that Mr. Lowell wrote to 
Mr. Knight, President of the London Horticultural Society, 
for a copy of their transactions for Harvard College. " He 
replied," says the writer, " in a most friendly manner, ap- 
peared to be highly gratified with opening an intercourse 
with our country, expressed his strong attachment to it, 
his disgust at the libels on our country, in some presses of 
Great Britain, and his intention to send some of his best 
new fruits which the late improvements had introduced." 

In the following year, 1823, Mr. Knight's promise was 
fulfilled. A letter was received, and with it a box of trees 
and scions containing ten varieties of pears, two of apples, 
four of cherries and two of plums. All these Mr. Lowell, 
at Mr. Knight's particular request, was to cultivate in his 
grounds and disseminate them as extensively as possible. 
To this opportune correspondence, the actual possession of 
these new fruits, their high reputation abroad, and the 



15 

general desire and eagerness to possess them, as well as 
the subsequent donations from the same source, may be 
traced the unbounded zeal and enthusiasm in fruit culture, 
which culminated in the formation of the Massachusetts 
Horticultural Society in 1829. 

The addition of eighteen new kinds of fruit, though at 
this time considered of little importance, was then an ac- 
quisition whose value we cannot adequately appreciate ; * 
with only the St. Michael, St. Germain, Brown Beurre and 
a few other pears; the Black Tartarian, Black Heart, May 
Duke and some other cherries ; the addition of twelve new 
sorts to these fruits was in proportion to the kinds then 
cultivated as five hundred at the present period. " Who 
would not be pleased," inquires Mr. Lowell, " to have ten 
new and excellent varieties of pears in the prime of youth " 
to supply the place of those we have named. You can 
therefore understand the surprise and gratification of the 
few enthusiastic cultivators who took a deep interest in fruit 
growing at the anticipated pleasure of securing three times 
the number they then possessed, and among them new 
seedlings of the highest reputation. The result was that 
inquiries were frequent for the scions, greater in fact than 
could be supplied. Some descriptions of these fruits in 
the agricultural papers augmented the demand, and yearly 
the. circle of cultivators increased — more new fruits were 
received — glowing accounts of their merits given — and 
the inquiry was kept up. The pear especially began to 
have a reputation as a superior fruit, and as the Urbaniste 



16 

and Marie Louise — then little known, but since famous for 
their great excellencies — ripened their luscious fruit, en- 
thusiasm had reached its highest point. Individual efforts 
were too limited, and a society was talked of to aid in the 
introduction as well as dissemination of still other new 
fruits, especially the pears of Van Mons, which had just be- 
fore begun to attract the notice of cultivators throughout 
fiurope and this country. Even the cultivation of some of 
our native pears began to be a subject of consideration, 
though these had hitherto been ignored, especially such as 
had not the supposition of foreign origin, so strong was 
the belief, even by Mr. Lowell, that it was scarcely possible 
to find natives of so much excellence as the Andrews, 
Cushing, Seckel and others. But these were submitted to 
the ordeal of a trial, and were acknowledged to be equal 
to those from abroad. 

But enough had been done to stir up a spirit of im- 
provement and stimulate to renewed exertions, and as the 
. speediest means of arousing the public to the importance 
of Horticultural art, a society, upon the model, so far as 
possible, of the London Horticultural Society, was talked 
of in private, and publicly discussed in the New England 
Farmer, and an announcement was made that a meeting 
would be held for this object. On the twenty-fourth day 
of February, 1829, this took place at the office of Zebedee 
Cook, Jr., in State Street, at which the Hon. John Lowell 
presided. Sixteen gentlemen were present, and a commit- 
tee of three, of which Gen. Dearborn was chairman, was 



17 

appointed to prepare a Constitution and By-Laws, and 
report at a future meeting. On the 17th of March this 
took place ; the Constitution and By-Laws were read, and 
unanimously adopted as the Constitution and By-Laws of 
the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. Gen. Dearborn, 
most fortunately, was elected President. In one month 
one hundred and sixty gentlemen had joined the Associa- 
tion. The meeting, it is stated in the New England 
Farmer, was held in their " Hall " in North Market 
Street, which was a small room, twenty feet square, in 
the third story of the Agricultural "Warehouse of John 
B. Russell, a gentleman whose enthusiasm in the cause 
was unabated, and whose labors in the organization of the 
Society contributed in an eminent degree to its success. 
On the 18th of June an exhibition took place, and as it 
may not be uninteresting to many of you to know of what 
the first exhibition was composed, I copy from the published 
report : — 

" From the garden of Gen. Dearborn, several ears of 
sweet corn, a new variety from Portland. From G. W. 
Pratt, Watertown, several dahlias, among which the Coc- 
cinea superba, helianthia flora, and the Royal Sovereign 
(purple) were considered superior to any seen in the vicinity 
of Boston ; one of the flowers measured 5£ inches in di-' 
ameter. From Z. Cook, Jr., several specimens of Althaea 
nigra and flava, very elegant. From Mr. Rufus Howe, 
several varieties of marigolds, dahlias and lilies. From N. 
Davenport, Milton, specimens of early vegetables." 



18 

Compare this with the recent exhibitions of our Society, 
and say, if we cannot exclaim with Mr. Lowell, "Horticul- 
ture never has made such rapid progress ! " 

From this period the exhibitions were held weekly in 
summer, and various fruits — many of them new — flowers 
and vegetables were shown. At nearly every meeting 
donations of books, seeds, plants, &c, were announced by 
the President, and a library of considerable extent was 
soon established, which at that time was exceedingly valu- 
able to many members, such works being expensive as well 
as difficult to procure. 

On Saturday, the 19th of September, the first annual 
exhibition was held in the dining room of the Exchange 
Coffee House. I shall not detain you with an account of 
this, other than to state that it was every way creditable to 
the members, and embraced in round numbers about thirty 
varieties of fruits and a fair show of flowers and vegetables. 
An address was delivered by the President, Gen. Dearborn, 
in the picture gallery of the Athenaeum. In the evening 
the members sat down to a dinner, and toasts and senti- 
ments were drank, songs were sung, and the whole passed 
off to the delight and satisfaction of all. Gen. Dearborn's 
address was an elaborate eulogy upon the pursuit of gar- 
dening, recording its triumphs, and rekindled anew the 
enthusiasm of the members. 

An Experimental Garden was a favorite project of Gen. 
Dearborn, as an indispensable object in connection with 
the Society, and to the furtherance of this he gave his 



19 

distinguished services freely, both publicly and privately; 
but it was at once found that the want of means precluded 
the accomplishment of his wishes. The establishment of 
a Rural Cemetery had also occupied the attention of sev- 
eral gentlemen interested in the subject previously to, and 
immediately after, the organization of the Society, and the 
combination of the two, it was thought, would bring about 
the desired result. In December, 1830, therefore, apian 
was submitted to the Society for purchasing Sweet Auburn, 
the property of George W. Brimmer, Esq. The plan was 
accepted and a committee appointed to carry the same into 
effect, by which the Society were to become the owners of 
Mount Auburn. In June, 1831, a detailed report was 
submitted by Gen. Dearborn, in which it was declared 
expedient to purchase the property, and proceed to the 
formation of a garden and cemetery. 

This report was a most interesting and valuable recapitu- 
lation of the labors of the Society for two years, and an 
elaborate account of the mode of establishing and con- 
ducting an Experimental Garden. Such establishments in 
Europe were successful, but it was overlooked that they were 
sustained by the aid of Government. So grand were the 
conceptions of Gen. Dearborn's comprehensive mind, that 
all the income from the Cemetery in its present prosperous 
condition would scarcely support it ; and to encourage in- 
dividual efforts in Horticultural art was more within the 
province of the association than embarking in such a haz- 
ardous enterprise. It was subsequently abandoned. 



20 

From this period the Society went on flourishingly, at 
the close of the year numbering two hundred and fifty 
members. The exhibitions were continued, and the inter- 
est in them increased so rapidly that more space and better 
accommodations were needed, and rooms were taken in the 
third story of Joy's Building. Here the Society remained 
till 1835, when a larger and more commodious room was 
obtained in Cornhill. It was at this period that the impor- 
tant change took place which has been so highly beneficial 
to both the Society and Mt. Auburn Cemetery, and has 
been in part the means by which you have been enabled to 
erect these walls. Owing to the various interests of both 
the Experimental Garden and Cemetery it was deemed ex- 
pedient to form two associations, the Society relinquishing 
the fee of the property, but retaining an interest in the 
sales of lots. It was after much consideration arranged to 
the satisfaction of all parties. 

From Cornhill the Society removed to Tremont Row, 
where, with a still larger room, in fact a fair-sized hall, they 
remained until the erection of the old hall in School Street, 
which was built in 1844 and dedicated in May, 1845. 
During this period of nearly sixteen years, the members 
had continually increased, and the interest in horticulture 
was unabated. The annual exhibitions were so extensive 
as to require the largest hall in the city to display the in- 
creasing quantity of fruits. It was from this period that 
the Society began to take that prominent position, which it 
has since maintained throughout the country. By the 



21 

accession of means received from Mount Auburn and the 
donations of liberal-minded men, it was enabled to offer 
large prizes, which stimulated members to renewed exer- 
tions in every department of gardening. The donations 
of Mr. Knight, already noticed, and of Van Mons, had en- 
riched our gardens with an immense number of foreign 
pears, more than two hundred and fifty of which had then 
fruited in the garden of that eminent pomologist, the late 
Robert Manning of Salem, and from thence had been 
distributed throughout the State, and to a partial extent 
throughout the entire country. 

To these had been added, after great research and exten- 
sive correspondence, almost an equal number of native 
fruits of superior quality. All were under cultivation in 
the gardens of numerous amateurs, and the annual exhi- 
bitions of the Society presented a display of the pear, 
unequalled, it is believed, either in France or in Belgium the 
land of pears. Hundreds of new plants and flowers had 
been introduced from abroad or raised by our cultivators 
at home, and by the spirit of emulation, encouraged by 
premiums, these were annually gathered together in such 
numbers that even the new hall was soon unable to hold 
them. The largest room in the city was too limited, and in 
1852 the Society were compelled to pitch their tent in the 
Public Garden or on the Common, where for two or three 
seasons were presented to the public a display of fruits 
not surpassed in the number of kinds, if they have been 
equalled in the quality of the specimens, since that period. 



22 

Fortunate was the Society in having in the presiding 
officer one who was so thoroughly imbued with a love of 
horticulture — whose leisure hours were devoted to its pur- 
suit — whose means had enabled him to introduce various 
new fruits, plants and flowers, and whose distinguished ser- 
vices in Pomology continued up to this day, though now 
lessened by illness, but whose presence we hail to-day with 
more than ordinary pleasure after an absence of nearly two 
years. Others, also deeply interested in our pursuit, were 
called to the responsibilities and duties of President, and 
the Society enjoyed uninterrupted prosperity, such as few 
similar associations can claim. 

In the space of ten more years the Society had awarded 
numerous gold medals, in addition to its regular prizes, to 
the amount of several hundred dollars, for Seedling Camel- 
lias, Strawberries, Ptoses, Azaleas, Cherries, and for the in- 
troduction of fruits and flowers, the result of the interest 
created by the activity and zeal with which it had been 
conducted by those who had been called to discharge the 
responsible duties of officers and committees. Just at this 
time that large and elegant hall, — so long wanted by the 
increasing musical taste of our citizens, — was erected, and 
its great size at once commended it as the only suitable 
place for our annual exhibitions — always hazardous when 
held in the open air so late in the season, in our change- 
able climate — though acknowledged to be delightful and 
agreeable in other respects. The tent was abandoned 
and the spacious Music Hall has since then afforded 



23 

abundant room for the constantly augmenting number of 
fruits, flowers and vegetables. 

But while we award all praise to the pioneers in hor- 
ticultural art in our own country, and to the numerous 
cultivators who have shown the same zeal and rendered 
important services in everything pertaining to the prosperity 
of our institution and the furtherance of its objects, we 
must retrace our steps and make some slight acknowledg- 
ment for that wealth of information and that magnificent 
example which has been given us by the English amateurs, 
cultivators and gentlemen of leisure, of the preceding, and 
the early part of the present, century, when Horticulture 
first took rank as a science and an art, and during which 
period such gigantic strides were made in the art of culture 
as well as in the addition of new trees, plants, flowers, 
fruits and vegetables from the most distant and unknown 
regions of the world. 

Though we may look with sincere regret upon the course 
which England has pursued toward us as a nation, and 
more particularly in her recent attitude while our efforts 
were directed to the preservation of our Union, we cannot, 
at least as cultivators and lovers of nature, as well as of 
art, withhold our admiration of the illustrious men whose 
disinterested labors have done so much to accelerate our 
own advancement in every department of rural industry. 
With Milton as the herald, — with Addison and Pope as 
champions, — with Walpole and Shenstone as aids, and 
Mason, "Whately, Price, Knight and Gilpin as promoters 



24 

of landscape art, — England became the Garden of the 
World. With but the scantiest indigenous flora, yet 
the trees of every clime enrich and diversify the land. 
With a cool and moist climate, where but few fruits succeed 
well in the open air, yet the pine-apple, orange, grape and 
fig are the products of many of her gardens. 

From the remotest region of a kingdom, on whose do- 
minions the sun never sets, have been gathered, through 
the energy and intelligence of gentlemen of taste, and the 
enthusiasm, perseverance, courage and adventurous spirit of 
numerous botanical collectors — who suffered every priva- 
tion, and even death, that they might add one more exquisite 
form to the thousands already reclaimed from the desert, the 
mountain or the plain — all the great phalanx of varied, cu- 
rious, splendid and majestic objects which have contributed, 
by their number, their variety, and by their disposition for 
landscape effect, to produce that picturesque beauty which 
is the prevailing character of the modern or English garden. 
If there are any scenes which bring to recollection the sub- 
lime description of Paradise in that immortal poem — 

" the crisped brooks, 



Rolling on orient pearl and sands of gold, 

With mazy error under pendent shades, 

Ran nectar, visiting each plant, and fed 

Flowers worthy of Paradise, which not nice art , 

In beds and curious knots, but nature boon 

Poured forth profuse on hill, and dale, and plain" — 

these are to be found at Chatsworth and Trentham, at 
Cliveden and Woburn Abbey. 



25 

Perhaps it may have never occurred to many of you, 
even those who are the dearest lovers of trees, to learn the 
history of the introduction of our American species to Eng- 
land and from thence back again. This commenced to 
considerable extent about a century ago, but reached its 
height in the early part of the present century. During 
this period so great was the demand for every new tree, 
that immense numbers were introduced, and the price paid 
for them almost fabulous. 

From 1750 to the close of the century the Bartrams of 
Philadelphia sent to England a very large number of trees 
and shrubs, in all some one hundred or more species. 
Bishop Compton of London and Peter Collenson, a wealthy 
merchant, were the principal promoters of their introduc- 
tion, and they kept up a correspondence with this country 
for many years. 

It was now that the taste for planting, which, in the 
seventeenth century had been mainly confined to trades- 
men, clergymen and others, began to extend itself among 
the wealthy landed proprietors, and in 1804 the idea of es- 
tablishing a Horticultural Society originated with John 
Wedgewood, Esq., and a meeting was called at his house 
to consider the subject. Sir Joseph Banks was one of the 
gentlemen present. Mr. Wedgewood presided and a society 
was organized. From 1804 to 1809 it continued to in- 
crease in the number of members, but a charter was not 
obtained until the latter year. From this time the taste 
rapidly progressed. Collectors were sent to all parts of 



26 

the world, and Mr. Frazer, who had previously explored a 
part of our country, during three several tours, made his 
last voyage in company with his eldest son. He sent home 
in all upwards of seventy-five new species, numbering 
thousands of specimens, part of which were purchased by 
the Empress Catherine of Russia. 

Mr. John Lyon, about the same period, introduced 
American plants on a gigantic scale. In 1805 he returned, 
after an absence of three years, with the greatest collection 
of trees and shrubs ever brought to England at one time. 
His catalogue filled thirty-four closely-printed pages, and 
the sale occupied four days. In 1812 he again took to 
England a similar quantity. In 1823 the London Horti- 
cultural Society sent Mr. David Douglas to the Northwest 
Coast, and the plants and trees he introduced — from a 
newly-explored region — were greater than those of any 
other botanist. Only a few of the trees, however, are 
found hardy in our northern climate; but among the 
shrubs was the beautiful Mahonia, with its deep-green 
glossy leaves, exquisitely tinted and bronzed on the ap- 
proach of winter. The flowers he discovered are now the 
most common and decorative ornaments of every parterre. 
The whole number of species of trees and plants introduced 
into England from 1800 to 1835 was six hundred and 
ninety-nine, and of these five hundred and twenty-eight 
were natives of North America ! How long before our 
planters will cease to introduce foreign trees to the neglect 
of our own, the pride and boast of every English garden? 



27 

Such was the taste for trees and shrubs in England at 
the time the magnificent demesnes of White Knights and 
Blenheim were planted, the picturesque beauty of whose 
grounds and extent of their plantations eclipsed the regal 
splendor of their palaces. As early as the commencement 
of the century the Duke of Marlborough began to plant 
Rhododendrons, Azaleas, Kalmias and Magnolias, when 
these and others of our commonest American plants sold 
readily for twenty to thirty guineas each. Twenty-two 
plants of the Magnolia grandiflora, the most noble tree 
America has produced, occupy a wall at Blenheim one hun- 
dred and forty-five feet long, twenty-four high, and cost five 

guineas each. 

What useless extravagance, perhaps you may exclaim, 
especially when it is remembered how deeply involved in 
debt was the Duke. But why extravagant? Are not 
twenty or thirty or even one hundred guineas often paid 
for some gay equipage, for some favorite jewel, or some 
costly article of dress? and will either of these afford more 
unalloyed pleasure than a magnificent tree, beneath whose 
refreshing shade you may repose, listening to 

" The bend 

Of stirring branches," 

watching the sunbeam as it plays among the leaves, and, 
yielding to their tranquilizing influences, muse on the 
beauties of nature. 

The occasion will not admit of a more minute history of 
gardening, nor should I be capable of undertaking the task, 



28 

in the brief space of time you have allowed me, to extend 
a few introductory remarks into an address. It would be 
pleasant to trace back the progress of the art to the time 
of the Grecians, and to speak of the gardens of that period; 
of that of Alcinous, described by Homer with all the bril- 
liancy of his fertile imagination, illustrating the simple 
state of horticulture of the time : 

" Four acres was the al'otted space of ground, 
Fenced with a green inclosnre all around : 
Tall thriving trees confessed the fruitful mould, 
The reddening apple ripens into gold. 
Here the blue fig with luscious juice o'erflows ; 
With deeper red the full pomegranate glows ; 
The branch here bends beneath the weighty pear, 
And verdant olives flourish round the year; 
Beds of all various kinds, forever green, 
In beauteous order terminate the scene." 

Or of the Villa Laurentina of Pliny, the most reliable 
historian of Gardening, situated on the Tiber ; the Italian 
Garden of Isola Bella (so recently visited and its magnifi- 
cence even now described by one of your Vice-Presidents) ; 
of the Imperial Gardens of St. Petersburg, or of Ver- 
sailles, the grand conception of Le Notre, executed in all 
the magnificence of the time of Louis XIV. I should be 
glad also to allude to the services of the distinguished men 
who have fostered and encouraged the art of Horticulture, 
by their wealth, their taste, their honorable example, or by 
their works. But beyond that of recalling their names, 
that their memory may be ever fresh, I shall not trespass 



29 

on your time. This record contains among others the 
illustrious names of Bacon, Evelyn, Addison, Cowper, 
Pope, Temple, Allison, Du Hamel, Knight, Van Mons, 
Soulange Bodin, Thouin, Repton, Miller, Darwin, Poiteau, 
Loudon, Hooker, Lindley, Mackintosh, Hosack, Prince, 
Fessenden, Buel, and Downing. 

Of those of Garden, Frazer, Lyon, Pursh, Michaux, 
©ouglas, Nnttall, Bigelow, Gray, Hartweg, Fortune, Lobb, 
Humboldt, Catesby, Siebold, Veitch, Russell, and others, 
who have explored all parts of the globe, and gathered in 
countless profusion the untold treasures of every clime. 

Of the names of Gray, Loddiges, Lee, Knight, Perry, 
Van Houtte, Leroy, Veitch, VerschafTelt, Linden, Vilmorin, 
and other practical cultivators, who have not only introduced 
at immense cost thousands of plants, but by their skill in 
growing and propagating them have increased and dupli- 
cated their number until they have become the inmates of 
every garden. 

To attempt in your presence to eulogize the pursuit of 
Horticulture, in which so many of you are engaged, and in 
which you have experienced so much delight, would be an 
idle waste of time. To refer to the production of new fruits 
and new flowers, so rapidly augmented of late years by the 
now well-known and reliable process of hybridization, — to 
their various modes of propagation, now so well understood 
by skilful men, — to their cultivation, systems of pruning, 
&c, or to their relative value for the market or garden, — 
would be at the risk of tiring your patience. You have 



30 

witnessed the exhibitions of the Society, weekly, monthly, 
annually, year after year, and are undoubtedly familiar with 
our fruits and flowers, and have yourselves added, by your 
own skill, to the long catalogue, many varieties, whose ac- 
knowledged beauty and superior qualities have enriched 
every garden and given value to every orchard. 

If, through a period of more than thirty years, you have, 
by your devotion to the great purposes of the Society, fol* 
lowed it from place to place — cheered and encouraged by 
its onward progress — until it has reached the elevated posi- 
tion it now holds, how great must be your delight, and 
what deep emotions of gratitude spring up in your hearts, 
that you have found a permanent home ! In the contem- 
plation of the past, as well as in the anticipations of the 
future, how much there is to awaken in us renewed feel- 
ings of joy, exultation and pride, not in a vain or arrogant 
spirit, but humbly thankful that, through the course of so 
many years, unvarying success should have attended your 
labors, harmonious action governed your deliberations, and 
a judicious administration of your affairs enabled you to 
erect this costly and beautiful edifice. 

But let not this prosperity decrease your ardor or lessen 
your labors in your favorite pursuit. Rather let it rekindle 
and fire your zeal for new conquests. Your duties and 
responsibilities have increased with your growth. If you 
have pulled down that you might build greater — if you 
have grasped the prize of a life-long ambition — let not this 
result satisfy you. If you are the possessor of a garden 



I 



31 



filled with beautiful trees or shrubs to which you may retire 
from the turmoil of the crowded city, and among whose 
sylvan shades you take your daily walk — making them your 
companions and friends — come hither often with branch, or 
flower, or berry, to inspire the same delight in others. Or 
if you are only the owner of a little spot of ground, filled 
with the choicest flowers — whose constant nurture has 
occupied the moments snatched from life's busy scenes, 
and whose opening blossoms are daily eloquent with 
lessons of grace and loveliness — do not refuse to offer them 
here as tokens of your affection and triumphs of your art. 
And if neither tree or flower or fruit can yet claim your 
care, will not the recollection of youth's golden hours, when 
gathering the first snowdrop of spring, or the last aster of 
autumn, touch, as with a vibrating chord, that latent love 
for nature, which few do not possess, awaken aspirations 
for things beautiful, and bring you into sympathy with the 
objects of our association. 

Welcome then to us be this Temple of Flora. Here come 
and bring your lovely flowers, gathered, it may be, fresh 
from the dewy fields and pastures, or plucked in early morn 
in the cultivated border — the choicest offerings of your 
tasteful care — arranged in innumerable forms and sparkling 
with colors of every hue. From these walls may ever 
irradiate that spirit of beauty which shall not only draw 
within your extending circle every lover of Nature or Art, 
but whose glorious effulgence shall not be dimmed until 
the whole world becomes a garden. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




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